Girls' Choice
by LetItFlow0992
Summary: When it is recognised that the many friendships between the students and teachers at Super Hero High are threatened by dire stress from forces in and outside of the school, the faculty bands together and organises a dance in the hopes of ending it. Announcing it as a girl's choice, tension is exchanged for levity as wacky hijinks ensue as the girls ask out their prospective dates.
1. Gathering of the Faculty

**A fun, little fic I decided to write to relieve some pressure of my own. Enjoy.**

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Chapter 1 - Gathering of the Faculty

To ask for an ordinary, stressfree start to every morning should never sound like such an unusual request. After all, a person has the natural right to want their day to begin with an easy and casual routine, especially if said person was anticipating a heavy workload for the majority of it. But, as seemed to always be the case for some, there was something or a many kind of somethings that caused that wish to go unheeded.

For the working staff of an educational institution such as a school, asking for that blissful and easy start was next to impossible. Students in general misbehaved and carried on with their noisemaking. Paperwork would be set on the desks early before the teachers and principals had had enough time to settle in. Parents complained about how their children were being treated by other students or being poorly graded by the teachers.

But once, just once, maybe in a figurative blue moon, it was not so impossible. Plans and schedules would occur swimmingly, without trouble, and the students would head off and attend their first lesson without creating much of a fuss for themselves or anyone else.

At Super Hero High in Metropolis however, such a wish could only be granted if you had the power of mind control. Asking regular teenagers for quiet and peace on a hopefully more frequent basis was bad enough, but asking it of an entire student body filled with superpowered or technologically-advanced minded subadults was a literal horror story.

To start with, there was the usual troublemaking from Harley Quinn. Whenever a prank was played on anyone, you could bet and win that the go-to party planner of the school was the perpetrator. Next up was Cheetah; a neverending schemer if there was one, the self-named archrival of Wonder Woman was constantly poised on the lookout to break a school rule to either make herself look good or to frame or antagonise just about anybody. Then there was Beast Boy, often seen by everyone to be the most effective prankster after Harley and the common cause of a headache for his friends whenever he made a particularly bad joke or a clumsy attempt at flirting. To the surprise of all, in recent months he had gained a loyal partner-in-crime. Raven, the daughter of Trigon, was indeed one of the more socially-awkward students but she was also one of the more mature, so it was completely unexpected when the girl had started joining in on the changeling's plans.

Of course, none of those compared to any of the occasions where a supervillain attacked the areas of Metropolis outside of Super Hero High or even the school itself. The "Save the Day" alarm, although helpful in alerting the young heroes to these dangers, was notoriously disruptive for the classes; nearly every student would jump up to leave and answer the call and the many that came back when the team quota was filled interrupted the lessons again with their return. Incidents where the school was being invaded spoke for themselves, casting everything planned for the day into oblivion as the supervillain wanted the school managed their way or made too much of a mess of things in the ensuing battle to allow any schedule to resume.

This was the expected life of every student and teacher at Super Hero High, largely in thanks to Lois Lane consistently reporting on every threat faced to the general public. But, as expected as it was, they were all still regular people at heart and faced tensions and stress like every other person. Without something to break up all the emotional problems this involved, then disaster was certain to strike in an entirely different manner. And that disaster was determinably on the horizon, or at least that was how it looked in the eyes of Amanda Waller. The stern but fair principal of the school, Waller had a sharp, keen eye and saw easily that the relations between everyone there at Super Hero High were already in troubled waters.

Dissent had been brewing among the students, literally dividing them into groups of opinions; the most frequent topic she heard voiced was the appearance that Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Woman were hogging places on all of the mission teamups. The Detectives' Club was also gaining enemies and naysayers, be they suspects the club had annoyed in publicly stalking them or the people they successfully caught. Arguments kept springing up between friends. The faculty staffroom, once a quiet place to hold meetings and discussions, was now a stadium for shouting matches.

Something had to be done before it reached the inevitable breaking point, but Waller did not know what to do about it, which was the reason why she called for another meeting with herself, Vice Principal Grodd, the teachers and Parasite attending on one particular evening after the students had retired to their dorms.

**:*:**

"Alright, Amanda. What is this all about?" Grodd queried. "We've all got to get shuteye before the kids bother us again tomorrow."

The rest of the faculty nodded in agreement, Parasite punctuating his with his trademark groan.

"I understand you all need rest, but you also understand we must do our jobs and look after our students' wellbeing," Waller reprimanded them lightly. "Surely you've seen the evidence that things are becoming really strained around here."

"Tell me about it," James Gordon spoke up. "Today alone, I had two sets of rows during the same lesson. On one end of the classroom, I had Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy arguing over something I never really got the gist of."

"Was Ivy the one upset?" Liberty Belle asked.

"Yep," Gordon acknowledged.

"Then it was probably just another prank," Grodd concluded indifferently.

"Maybe. All I know is that Ivy accused Harley of not valuing her enough," Gordon shrugged. "The more surprising thing was, on the other end, the second argument was between Babs and Kara."

"Supergirl and Batgirl were arguing?" Waller gaped. "I must have missed that one. Those two are usually thick as thieves."

"You think that's bad, then you should have seen gym class this afternoon," Wildcat joined in. "Lady Shiva, Katana and Big Barda were all coming down hard on Raven, asking her why she's been supporting Beast Boy so much."

"Agh! Don't get me started!" Grodd bellowed. "Logan's been pulling off more and more pranks now that she's helping him. It's making Harley look tame in comparison." He turned to Waller. "Amanda, you've got to tell her father. Maybe he'll get her in line."

Waller frowned, her face looking like she had just swallowed a whole lemon. "I tried that already. Trigon was delighted. He said he was proud of her for causing others trouble and that he would like to meet the little green demon influencing her to go bad."

Grodd scowled in disappointment. "Sorry I asked," he grumbled.

"The important thing is," Waller resumed. "We need something to help break the tension before it gets worse. Something to bring Super Hero High back to normal, or our usual level of normal. Ideas, anyone?"

"Detention," Grodd suggested quickly.

"Field trip," Gordon put forward.

"Writing contest," Etrigan nominated.

"Science comp," Lucius Fox chimed in.

"Costume pageant," Crazy Quilt responded eagerly.

"Sports fair," Wildcat added.

"Cleanup day," Parasite moaned.

"How about a dance?" June Moone asked.

All those present stopped still at hearing the last proposal from their bespectacled teacher of art and turned towards her in confusion. Grodd, the most stunned of them, snorted derisively. "More noise? Absolutely not!"

Gordon, appearing nervous, was of a similar mind. "That might be a good idea for the girls, but I'm not so sure about the boys. Some of them may be too shy or too shallow to ask the girls to a dance."

"So, make it a girls' choice. If the girls are doing the asking, then that's not much of a problem," Liberty Belle debated reasonably.

"That does seem a logical resolution," Red Tornado noted, agreeing with her.

"Admittedly, a dance wouldn't take that long to set up," Waller said thoughtfully. "If we play the cards right, we could have the memorial hall ready and prepared by Friday morning."

"I don't know, Amanda," Gordon said, cringing noticeably. "I still feel more comfortable with the idea of a field trip."

Wildcat grinned mischievously, guessing why talk of a couples' dance would have the police commissioner so flustered. "You're only saying that so your darling daughter won't go running off in search of dates."

"Huh! Of course that wouldn't bother you, Mr Matchmaker," Gordon fired back. "You used the last dance we had to set up your two favourite students."

"Hey, I always said Oliver and Dinah would make a good couple, and look how that turned out. They were the star pair of the school right up to their graduation and they're still going strong now."

"Have they put a date on the engagement yet?" Crazy Quilt, Liberty Belle and Ms Moone asked in unison.

"Yep, March next year," Wildcat answered. "And who knows? If we put on _this_ dance, we may get another star couple the kids will gossip about instead of going at each other's throats. I don't know about the rest of you, but gossip I can easily get silenced in class."

None of the others seemed to want to refute him on that fact and quiet fell across the room. Waller, sensing the debate was over, took charge again. "So, majority rules then. Those for the dance?" she called, raising her hand.

Ms Moone, Liberty Belle, Crazy Quilt, Red Tornado and Wildcat all raised theirs to support the motion immediately. After taking some moments to think, Etrigan, Lucius and Parasite joined in.

"Any opposed?"

Grodd and Gordon, in the face of knowing they had already lost, signalled their opinion.

"Nine against two," Waller counted. "Motion passed. Super Hero High will be hosting a girls' choice dance this Friday evening."

Grodd sighed irritably, writing down the minutes in his records book. "So when do we inform the students?"

Waller began laying out her plans in answer. "We tell them on the day, after first period. Set up an announcement to take place then. Cancel all the other classes to give the girls time to ask whomever they want; have some visitor passes ready in case they invite someone from outside. No homework is to be given out for the weekend either. If this goes well, all any of the kids will want to converse about is the dance."

"Right," Grodd stated blandly, jotting in all the words. "If we're going for the surprise angle, then we'd better not ask Harley to plan the event. That girl's tongue is looser than a kamikaze tank."

"You're right. Hire in a professional team and instruct them to handle everything discreetly," Waller agreed. "Make sure they're not seen, especially by Supergirl or Miss Martian."

"Cover it up by saying we're doing renovations on the hall," Wildcat advised.

Waller nodded at him and gestured to Grodd to put it in writing. As he finished up, she turned to her fellow staff. "Alright, meeting adjourned, and not a word to the students until the announcement on Friday morning."

"Monday night," Gordon acknowledged the current time and day. "Just three days to worry, and then a day full of dread."

**:*:**

Contrary to Gordon's expectations, the so-called three days of worry passed by quickly. When it was put up on the community noticeboards on Tuesday morning that the memorial hall was undergoing renovations and would not be available to hire for over a week, noone batted an eye. Harley got curious and repeatedly, in her crazy and unpredictable way, asked Grodd what kind of renovations were the renovations.

Wednesday brought with it an even greater threat to keeping the surprise intact as Beast Boy took to his own curiosity and tried to explore the hall while transformed as a mouse. Surprisingly, Red Tornado was the one to put a stop to it, catching the green mouse by the tail. Before the android could question or scold the teenager, the rodent dangling between his steel thumb and forefinger disappeared in a flash of black light. Anyone who was present realised what had happened, especially Wonder Woman who noticed the hem of a midnight blue cloak whipping hurriedly around the corner out of sight. Raven had been there to save Beast Boy's hide again.

After hearing of her green-skinned troublemaking rival's daring escapade, Harley was more determined than ever to see what the renovations were and rose from bed early on Thursday morning to seek Ivy's help in getting inside. She was left downhearted when the floral advocate turned her down, bringing up their unresolved argument from Monday. Stung by the rejection, Harley left Ivy's greenhouse in tears. Katana, passing by, saw Ivy in the process of shedding tears as well and decided to go in for answers.

When Friday dawned, Harley appeared to be in better spirits. As students started to fill the halls on the way for breakfast, a muffled yet high-pitched scream was heard coming from her dormroom. Hawkgirl, through her ongoing duty as hall monitor, and Cheetah, through her rivalry with the screamer in question, knew precisely what it indicated. Sure enough, Wonder Woman emerged from the room, an empty pie plate taped to the front of her face. Written on the tin surface, in alternating pink and yellow letters encircled around a sketch drawing of the Amazonian's features, were the words "Wondy-Pie".

Hawkgirl groaned. Cheetah broke out in laughter. Their suspicions had proved correct. Harley Quinn had, without fail, just played her routine wakeup prank on Wonder Woman.

For the rest of the students and all the teachers, it was practically an ordinary start to the day. Breakfast notice was rung throughout the corridors and grounds; the special of the day was Belgian waffles. Cyborg crowed in triumph all the way to the cafeteria. Everyone ate and drank without incident. Again, this was normally how things went at Super Hero High.

It was in first period that hopes for a nice beginning were regularly thrown to the wayside, but by some strange, amazing reason, nothing happened. For the first time that any of the students could recall, every part of the schedule for every class that session was carried out uneventfully. A few of them exhaled in relief, allowing themselves to believe nothing was going to disrupt the lesson and were glad to have some interrupted peace for a change. Others, like Cheetah, grumbled about not being given the chance to save the day themselves but were happy to see that three certain students did not get the opportunity to show off again. Some behaved as they always had; in Etrigan's class in particular, Beast Boy was dozing fitfully at his desk, transitioning between a variety of animal forms as he slept. But the majorly shared reaction was a collected, averaged-out level of curiosity. In Crazy Quilt's classroom, after having freed herself from Harley's pie plate at breakfast, Wonder Woman exchanged questioning glances with Supergirl, the both of them wondering if the unnatural quiet was a front for an imminent attack from supervillains.

But then, as the unbelievably serene first lesson of the day for everyone wound to a close, the inexplicable change to the timetable came about. Ten minutes before the bell rang to signal first recess, Principal Waller's voice made itself heard across the school via the public-address system.

"Ahem. Good morning, students. I trust you've all had a pleasant morning so far," the principal began, pausing briefly before going on. "A special assembly has been organised and will be held at the end of your current lesson where an important announcement will be given by Vice Principal Grodd and myself. Attendance is mandatory, so when the bell rings, do not go straight to recess and kindly go outside the front of the school. Anyone who disregards this message will immediately regret it."

In each and every room as Waller finished speaking, conversations buzzed into life throughout the students. Their curiosity rising to a peak, they issued their thoughts aloud to one another. Cheetah boasted proudly that she was going to defy the order and go to recess; noone listened to her, choosing instead to gabble on about the surprise assembly, and she sat back in her chair with an infuriated huff. Bumblebee suggested shrinking down to her insectlike size to sneak into Waller's office and discover what the assembly was about; this, Crazy Quilt managed to hear clearly over the din and he threatened her with a week's worth of detentions if she dared to try it. With a gulp audible only to Supergirl's ears, she fell quiet.

The short remainder of the time left before the assembly evaporated rapidly and the bell's shrill ring echoed through the building. Hawkgirl moved to jostle Beast Boy awake, only to shockingly find him already up and alert since the moment Waller began delivering her message. Altogether the doors of the classrooms opened in unison and the student filed out slowly, heading towards the main entrance.

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**Let me know what you think. Reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	2. Announcing the Dance

**No sense in beating around the bush. Time for the young heroes to discover what this is all about.**

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Chapter 2 - Announcing the Dance

In barely no time at all, due to the mostly private intensity of their shared curiousness, the students of Super Hero High gathered outside the front of the school and faced the steps leading back into the building. Vice Principal Grodd, the only faculty member present, was setting up the podium and microphone on top of the highest step for Waller's arrival. Gossip sprung up again as the audience of teenagers were made to wait, but kept their conversations to a lower murmur than the level they had been held at in the final minutes of the first period so as not to disturb and earn the ire of the infamously short-tempered gorilla.

Soon enough, the other teachers began to show up. Liberty Belle and Ms Moone were the first to emerge, followed two minutes later by Etrigan. Red Tornado appeared next; having flown his way there after resetting the obstacle course from his last lesson, he descended from the sky to land to the right of the podium. Crazy Quilt exited through the doors not long after, an overeager expression on his features. Lucius Fox and Wildcat came out standing like soldiers, marching a glum-looking Commissioner Gordon between them. Parasite edged out onto the steps afterwards but stuck close to the doors, preferring to keep away from the spotlight that was the rapt attention of the pupils amassed before him.

Principal Waller arrived last. Walking briskly through the doors, she stepped forward to command the podium. Grodd shuffled away, vacating the spot for her. Raising her hand, Waller tested the microphone's audio. Greeted with only a slight buzz of feedback, she held the frame of the podium tightly and leaned forward.

"First things first, thank you all for presenting yourselves here as I asked," she addressed her young audience calmly. "It's good to know the entire student body can do something right every once in a while."

A low song of laughter rumbled out among the heroes-in-training. Grodd glared in their direction, silently ordering them to quieten down. Nonetheless, Waller received their answer well and continued on.

"Now, as I'm sure you're all aware, Super Hero High appears to be going through some tough strains in recent weeks; jealousy at the achievement of others, constant and bitter arguments between friends, disruptions in class, pressures to excel in your studies, and occasions of disobedience."

"And a loose disregard for other peoples' feelings by playing pranks and making jokes with reckless abandon," Lady Shiva spoke up, glaring venomously in Beast Boy's direction.

"That has been acknowledged, yes," Waller stated, noting with a curious, raised eyebrow that the normally introverted Raven had thrown an extremely furious look at Shiva in response. "These strains have gone on for long enough. Earlier this week, Vice Principal Grodd, myself and the other esteemed members of the school faculty held an official meeting to properly resolve them. It was unanimously decided something was required to break the tension."

She gestured over to the memorial hall. "You all maybe have noticed that our memorial hall was shut down for renovations a few days ago." The students mumbled generally in answer. "I humbly apologise for the subterfuge involved, and any disruption to any of your plans it may have caused, but this was never the truth. After debating on a wide variety of options, our final choice relegated the use of the hall and it was also decided to keep our preparations a surprise for you all."

"And so, at this very evening at six o'clock, Super Hero High will be hosting," Waller turned back, facing the assembly again and readied a dramatic pause to unveil the secret. "A dance."

"A DANCE?" many of the girls chorused in jubilant delight.

"A dance?!" echoed a scattered amount of the boys, their faces falling in horror.

"Yes, a dance," Waller said wryly, recognising with amusement that she had achieved the response she was aiming for. "And to make things more interesting, this dance is a girls' choice event. That's right, boys, you're the ones getting asked."

The same number of boys who reacted badly to the reveal groaned audibly. The girls' second reply was of the quieter approach, as several of them started roaming their eyes through the crowd. Those of the boys who had so far not spoken either matched the girls as they wondered if they were about to be asked or were blushing shyly when they found they were already a target for one or more of them.

"For any of the girls who want to invite someone from outside the school, please see Vice Principal Grodd in his office and he will arrange a visitors' pass for your date," Waller resumed. "And to give you all time to prepare for tonight's occasion, the rest of your classes for the day have been cancelled. I wish you the best of luck in selecting your dates. Boys, I caution you not to refuse on the spot. And I give warning to _everyone _not to break any hearts tonight. I will see you this evening."

Departing, Waller moved away from the podium amidst the resounding cries of teenagers verbally spilling out endless streams of words in a multitude of conversations that took her speech's place and she headed back inside the school. Grodd disconnected the microphone and hoisted the podium up over his shoulders, following her in. The teachers and Parasite trailed after them, all but Gordon leaving the students to their gossiping with pleased smiles. The moment Waller had completed her announcement, the police commissioner tried to go down the steps, driven by the intent of reaching his daughter, but he was quickly grabbed from behind by Fox and Wildcat before he could get within an inch of Batgirl. This garnered that attention of the rest of their colleagues, but Waller made no mention of it until they were all well down the main corridor far from prying ears and she turned to face the three.

Glaring expectantly at Wildcat first, then at Fox, and finally at Gordon, she asked, "Anyone care to tell me what this is about?"

Gordon looked away shamefully, trembling as though he had been expecting trouble. Wildcat and Fox eyed each other nervously, neither of them really wanting to confess. Waller glared harder. The two wilted and broke.

"We, erm, caught Jim in the Communications Room," Lucius replied. "Apparently, he's been telling Batman about the dance all week."

"Oh he has, has he?" Waller expressed her imminent fury, disturbed that one of her staff had disregarded her instructions to keep the event a total secret, in a tranquil tone. "For what reason?"

"He was hoping Bruce would assign Barbara a mission for tonight," Wildcat answered.

Feeling there was a rapid change in the overall mood around him, Gordon glanced at his fellow staff members and immediately regretted it. With a shiver, he found himself the focus point of glares from not just Waller as he had suspected he would get, but also Grodd, Etrigan, Parasite, Liberty Belle, Crazy Quilt and Ms Moone.

"Really!" Crazy Quilt huffed. "Robbing a night of fun from your daughter!"

"It's alright," Lucius tried to calm everyone. "Bruce isn't going to do anything. That's why we caught Jim. We heard them arguing."

"Yeah, he supports the dance wholeheartedly," Wildcat added. "Said he was going to send Nightwing over from Bludhaven High to join in the fun, if it's allowed."

Gordon moaned terribly. Waller responded, bringing a smirk to her lips as she understood why the commissioner had reacted that way. "I don't see a problem with it," she said. "I'm sure Batgirl will be glad to see her _teammate_. Grodd, could you set one of the visitors' passes aside for our guest?"

For once, the superpowered gorilla appeared uncomfortable with one of her requests, his furious glare being traded for a nervous glance. He shifted between loyalties, from Waller, his friend and superior, to Gordon, the only ally he had in disagreeing about the dance being potent enough to improve the psychological environment of the school. Realising he was caught between the literal rock and hard place, betrayal the consequence and price of however he chose to answer, his gut instinct called on him to find a way to escape making a choice.

"Uh, maybe Grayson wouldn't want to come," he said in a hurry. "From what I know of the kid, he's almost as dedicated to the job as Bruce. He's probably got a nightful of patrols planned."

Although Gordon lightened considerably in answer to his simian co-worker's excuse, the others were not as pleased. Waller in particular turned her sharp, piercing glare on him instead. Already he felt a mist of sweat beginning to permeate his brow. His eyes darted left and right, searching for a path to freedom, even if it was only temporary. There was nothing but the open corridor behind him as his fellow staff blocked all means of going the other way. But to utilise the corridor meant turning around before running, a single moment of which would allow Wildcat or Etrigan to jump him or for Ms Moone to transform into Enchantress and bar his way with her magic.

Uttering a defeated groan, he answered, "Okay. I'll put one on reserve for him."

The expressions of his workmates swapped again. Waller and the others grinned, satisfied with the outcome. For Jim Gordon, the rush of bright hope Grodd had given him with his previous comment now felt false and empty and he reverted back to the nervous wreck he had been for much of the week.

"Please, she's too young to date," he whimpered.

"She's the same age as many of the students here," Waller retorted. "You raised her, Jim, and she was taught and trained by Batman. Barbara is a responsible young woman who is growing up and nearing adulthood. I think it's time you understood that."

At the point she stopped reprimanding him, Waller's phone buzzed and shook around in her lower dress pocket. Sliding it out into her hand and bringing it to her ear, she answered.

"Hello," she spoke and paused, waiting for a reply. "Yes, Bruce. I've just been told of Jim's personal requests. No, no, no it's fine, he's welcome to come. We are setting up a visitor's pass for Nightwing as we speak. Tell him to collect it from Grodd as soon as he arrives. It's no problem, Bruce. Goodbye."

Hanging up the call, she put her phone back in her pocket and cast a scathing glance at Gordon. "I'm usually all for Machiavellian machinations, Jim, but strangely I'm in no mood for it right now," she warned the crestfallen commissioner. "If I learn you pull anything like that again today without justifiable reason, I may call up the Education Authority to request an official investigation into your conduct."

Liberty Belle nodded in agreement. "Yeah. After all, you're taking advantage of your role as a teacher to handle your personal affairs."

"More like opinions," Etrigan grumbled loudly.

Gordon's face paled in terror; he understood immediately the ramifications an investigation like that could do to ruin his career even if found innocent. Disbelief etched gradually into his stunned expression as he turned to each of his colleagues for support, only to end up dumbfounded when he saw they were taking his actions so seriously. His eyes met with Waller's again. The principal remained as unflinchingly resolute and severe as ever. Eventually sighing in complete defeat, he stood up straight and smoothed his coat over to appear presentable.

"Fine. I'll stop," he surrendered, "But if anything wrong happens from this, I will hold you personally responsible, Amanda."

"That all depends on what one interprets to be wrong, Jim," Waller remarked dryly.

Ignoring her jab, Gordon brushed past her and plodded down the corridor in what to everyone else standing there was a strikingly cold and stoic manner that even Batman himself was likely to be proud of. Out of all of them, Grodd was the most disturbed by it because, as the commissioner passed by him, he could have sworn he heard Gordon say to him quietly, "Thanks for the help, big guy."

As the teacher of criminology finally left their sight, Grodd exhaled and turned back to Waller. The brought-up subject of Nightwing visiting had, in the long run, reminded him he was going to inform his superior of a similar development he had been contacted about during the first period.

"Speaking of visitors, Amanda, I have to tell you that Clark Kent called us back earlier this morning."

Piqued by his report, Waller gleamed with unbridled anticipation. "Would I be right in assuming by the fact he has called, some progress has been made regarding the topic of my weekend conversation with him?"

"Yep. He's managed to convince the kid to give us a try. They're coming over after lunch break. I've scheduled a tour for them. What we need is a volunteer."

"I'll do it," Etrigan raised his hand. "And I promise not to be too rough with the boy."

"Glad to hear it," Waller smiled genuinely. "Having all three Kryptonian heroes educated and trained under our roof will boost our prestige inexorably. Don't let me down, Etrigan." She turned to face all of her remaining staff. "Grodd, you'd better get to your office. There's going to people hammering on your door very soon."

"Right," Grodd sighed reluctantly.

"As for the rest of us," Waller went on. "I suggest we _all_ retreat to our offices. We are still on duty, so our living quarters are not an option for shelter. Batten down the hatches, people, because the biggest ruckus ever seen is about to unfold on the grounds of Super Hero High."

* * *

**If you paid attention to that last line from Waller, then you can guess what is going to happen in the following chapter. See you then.**


	3. And So It Begins

**Let the chaos commence.**

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Chapter 3- And So It Begins…

The spark Waller had left with the students at the conclusion of her speech spread like an ignited wildfire as the girls separated into pairs, threes, fours or more. The most regularly shared subject between the randomly numbered groups, of course, was who each individual was going to ask to the dance. Like the predator she named herself after, Cheetah prowled among the boys, her eyes hunting in a single-minded determination to locate her perfect match. Some had already selected theirs; Frost weaved in and out through the audience on the lookout for her chosen guy. Parting her way between Mister Terrific and Steel, she finally found him. Flash turned towards her, realising she was looking at him and noticed within her eyes a strange, scary desire. Cold sweat emerged on his forehead and slightly dampened the material of his mask as he recalled the rules about the dance, playing Waller's entire message from memory. There was no way Frost was going to ask him, was there, he asked himself.

The answer came as a heart-pounding yes. Upon knowing he had seen her, Frost changed her approach, walking up to him slowly while clearly swaying her hips in a seductive fashion. Flash gulped deeply and cried out, "Excuse me! Coming through!" Powering up his super speed in a heartbeat, he ran for it. At first shocked still by his rapid escape from her, Frost's mood transitioned sharply to incensed annoyance.

"Oh no you don't!" she shouted, rushing off after him.

Supergirl and Batgirl almost forgot about their argument, wanting to go up to one another ecstatically and gush about their hopes for the evening. But the moment they remembered they had had the argument, the two fell back and moved apart.

Stewing about it from her side, Batgirl almost did not hear the Oracle going off. Acting fast when she did hear it and realised the alarm was nearing the end of its run, she plucked it from her utility belt and responded.

"What's up, Oracle?"

"Batman is trying to contact you. Do you wish to receive?" the device replied.

"Sure," Batgirl answered. She waited until her mentor appeared on the screen, obviously sitting in front of the Batcomputer in the cave beneath Wayne Manor. "Hi Bruce. You need me for something?"

"Not at all," the hero said, looking like he was attempting to suppress a grin. The jerkings of his mouth ceased gradually as he returned to speaking cordially. "I was _recently_ informed about the dance and wanted to let you know that Nightwing will be arriving at Super Hero High later."

"Dick's coming to the dance?" Batgirl asked, a red blush partly hidden by her black mask flaring to life.

"That's right," Batman smiled knowingly at her reaction. "Think you can meet up with him when he gets there?"

Batgirl grinned, her eyes growing clouded as she fantasized the meeting in her own way. "You bet I will."

"Okay, play fair. Batman out."

Contemplating her impending rendezvous with her teammate and the boy she grew up alongside of, Batgirl put the Oracle back where it belonged and sought her way out from the masses.

In the spot where she had been standing, three figures sidled out from the throng, having overheard the entire conversation. The head of the trio watched her rival leave, her mind already in the process of hatching plans to get Nightwing for herself.

**:*:**

"Robin is coming here?" Starfire squealed, her eyes glimmering with a brightness to match her name. "Oh beautiful and merry heart! My love is coming here!"

"Uh, Kory," Blackfire, one of the other two in the trio, approached her sister. "He hasn't been Robin for a while and, remember, he dumped you."

"Robin cannot ignore his identity or his destiny," Starfire beamed. "He is my one. My only."

"Um," Miss Martian, the third member, spoke up quietly. "It looks like Batgirl might have the same feelings for him as you do."

"Fear not, my friend. Nor you, my sister," Starfire pressed on regardlessly. "If need be, I shall make the challenge of the Batgirl under the laws of Tameran. She and I will battle in the contest of our own choosing and decide which of us will be free to obtain the heart of Robin."

Miss Martian stammered, turning to Blackfire. "Just how serious is a challenge like that?" she asked nervously.

"Very," Blackfire sweatdropped. "By the law of our people, whoever is victorious in the challenge is bidden to wed their prize in three Earth days or else the prize will die."

"But Batgirl and Nightwing are not of Tameranian heritage. Does that really apply to them?" Miss Martian countered.

"One might think that, but sadly not the case," Blackfire answered.

"Eep!" Miss Martian squeaked in recoil.

Blackfire snorted with laughter. "I'm joking, M'gann." She went on to reassure the female Martian. "The real law is that the victor has to wed the prize in three Earth _years_. If they fail to get married by that point, they are bound to never consider each other a suitable mate or to fight for them ever again. Should _that_ be broken, then _both_ the victor and the prize die."

"All the same, eep!" Miss Martian quivered. "Why would someone as gentle and loving as Starfire risk that kind of endangerment?"

"Because she doesn't take her actions seriously," Blackfire answered bluntly.

"Then we've got do something. Turn it from a life-or-death challenge into a nice, carefree game. Cards, chess or - -

Blackfire rounded on Miss Martian. "_We_ are not allowed to interfere directly," she said. "This matter is between Koriandr, Batgirl and Nightwing. As Kory's family, I can only act in the capacity of an advisor. You have no primary part to play in this, M'gann."

"But I - - -

"Would you relax, please?" Blackfire interrupted calmly. "I can handle Kory by myself. How about you go find yourself a date for the dance?"

"Um, I'd like to, but I don't think there's anyone who'd want to go with me," Miss Martian replied shyly.

Blackfire smiled at the green-skinned fondly and, taking her gently by the shoulders, turned her completely around. She held out one arm, swerving it carefully as she pointed out the massive number of people in the crowd.

"You won't know until you find him, so get out there and search," she spoke kindly. With a delicate push, she tossed Miss Martian forwards into the depths. M'gann hesitated for a second, wanting almost immediately to turn back. As she returned her gaze to Blackfire, the raven-haired Tameranian made a harried, ushering motion for her to get on. Smiling uncertainly in response, Miss Martian walked away from her two friends and started to brave the throng. Blackfire herself smiled, shaking her head in bemused exasperation, and she turned back to rein her sister's tendencies.

**:*:**

A short distance away, Bumblebee, Hawkgirl, Lady Shiva, Big Barda and Katana had pulled together to determine whom any of them would be asking. Right after the conversation had begun, Bumblebee quickly found her eyes darting to a certain half-metal male teen she saw was talking with Beast Boy. All of the other girls noticed her not taking visible part in the talking and exchanged wry, teasing looks as they recognised the source of her distraction. Sharing a brief glance with Lady Shiva, Katana's eyes caught a flash of floral green near the school entrance and she turned out of concern, thinking it was Poison Ivy. Her assumption proved correct; the redheaded botanist was heading up to the main doors, appearing as though the goings-on was hardly affecting her. A single forlorn glance changed that opinion as the girl spent a moment to regard the celebrations sadly before she took her leave and went inside.

Katana looked back to the others. "Can we talk about this later?" she asked them. "I have to help a friend."

"Okay, go right ahead," Hawkgirl nodded, the rest agreeing with her. Katana smiled in thanks and went to follow Ivy.

"What do you think that's about?" Big Barda asked.

"That's an easy one," Bumblebee said, the change in subject being forceful enough to divert her attention from Cyborg. "Harley."

"Yeah, she's been pranking Ivy too much lately," Hawkgirl added. "It's really hurting her feelings. If anyone asks, I say enough's enough. We need to get her to tone it down before she makes things even worse."

"Come to think of it," Bumblebee continued. "Where is Harley? I haven't seen her since the assembly started."

Lady Shiva pointed in the direction of the entrance, exclaiming, "There she is!" The other girls looked and saw the jester running up the steps. "She must be intending to play another prank!"

"After her!" Hawkgirl shouted. She, Bumblebee and Lady Shiva moved to dash off in pursuit. Big Barda did not.

"Um, actually, guys," the former member of the Furies spoke, causing them to halt in their tracks and glance at her for an explanation to why she had chosen not to follow them. "There is someone I would like to ask to the dance, so is it alright if I could, um, you know?"

Bumblebee grinned happily in reply. "Stop gawking, girl. Go get him."

"Thanks, Bee," Barda responded with appreciation. "Now let me return the favour."

"What do you mean by that?" Bumblebee asked.

Big Barda did not reply. Instead she strode across the grounds until she walked right up behind Cyborg and tapped him on the shoulder with her Mega-Rod. Bumblebee gaped as the person she held affection for broke off from his conversation with Beast Boy and turned to face the Apokoliptian.

"Cyborg, would you mind helping Bee and the girls in catching Harley? We think she's about to play another prank on Ivy?"

The human side to Cyborg's face glowed with positive anticipation. "A manhunt, huh?" he said exuberantly. "Count me in! Catch up later, BB?"

"You go it, big guy," Beast Boy crowed.

Cyborg pumped his fist into the air and ran over to the three girls to aid them in their chase of Harley, shouting out his trademark cry of "Boo-yah!" Nearly busting a gut, Beast Boy hid his spasm of laughter behind his hand as he and a slightly entertained Big Barda watched as the foursome set off on their self-appointed mission. The changeling glanced mischievously up at Barda, lowering his hand as he did so.

"Good one, Big B," he winked.

Barda smiled amusingly, the corners of her lips twitching as she realised he understood why she had chosen Cyborg to replace her on the team. Still, she decided to joke around with him in return. "I didn't do it to ask you out, Beast Boy."

"Nah, I know that," the shapeshifter waved off her attempt at humour. "Even I can see you've got lovey eyes for the new transfer student. Best of luck to ya in asking him, by the way."

"Thanks," Barda replied, her heart curiously touched by his surprising turn in encouragement. "I hope there's someone here who wants to ask you for real."

"Ah, I doubt it. I cause too much trouble," Beast Boy said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"That's probably a good thing. It's a part of you," Barda acknowledged. "If you want a girl to really be interested in you, then you should be true to yourself. Don't hide anything. Just be who you are."

"I do that, but it never works," Beast Boy admitted.

"Maybe it has," Barda hurried herself into voicing, wanting to repay him for his show of support. "Maybe she's shy or something. Maybe she's afraid of what her friends will think, that maybe they'll give her a hard time because they don't get why she's interested in someone like you - - sorry, BB, but your personality, it - - -

Just as suddenly as the words bubbled to the surface, they just as instantly pulled to a stop as a revelation hit home in Barda's mind, digging up a memory from Monday earlier in the week where she, Lady Shiva and Katana had ganged up on someone in the gym. Instinctively her head leaped around, her alert eyes seeking until they settled on that someone who, at that very moment, had her back to Barda and Beast Boy as Star Sapphire was engaging her in conversation. Barda's eyes widened in shocked resolution, almost as if the midnight-blue cloak and hood the other person was wearing held the earthshattering answer to multiple weeks worth of questions that she and the two girls had demandingly asked of her in that encounter.

"I. Am. A. Blind. Idiot," she whispered quietly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Beast Boy spoke, interrupting her stupor.

"Oh, nothing," Barda responded definitively, hiding a smile. "Don't worry, Beast Boy. I'm confident there'll be someone to ask you."

"Okay," a baffled Beast Boy drew out slowly. "Guess I'll have to wait and see."

"Count the minutes," Barda said warmly. "In the meantime, I've got my own guy to ask. See you around."

"See ya," Beast Boy replied as Barda re-entered the crowd. Now alone, he thought to himself. "I wonder why she's so sure about that."

**:*:**

Wanting to take her attention away from Star Sapphire and the girl's incessant need to gush about how she was going to ask Hal Jordan to the dance in the most romantic way she could think of, Raven carefully glanced in Beast Boy's direction to check again if he was alone. Nervousness rose up through her as she saw that he was no longer in the company of Cyborg or Big Barda. In her mind, she swiftly recognised the opportunity she had wanted. Her heart though was wrenching in two different directions, one towards the same path her mind journeyed on and the other holding her back as if it was afraid that path could lead to disaster. So far Beast Boy had not spotted her or her focus on him, allowing her to take a cooler form of deliberation.

This was what she wanted, wasn't it? A chance to know more about the boy whom she felt a strange and mysterious attraction for? To have the answer to why she always sensed there was some deeper meaning to him, a side of who he was as a person that he kept hidden from everyone else?

After observing him at arm's length, Raven thought becoming his friend would yield the solution but it turned out not to be enough. She did not get what she wanted, but she yearned for it and Beast Boy more. So she joined in on his pranks, strengthening their friendship into a closer bond as she worked with him, had fun with him, defended him from the insults of others, watched out for him as he set pranks in motion, and saved him from very tight situations when it seemed like he was going to be caught by the teachers. But even then, after several weeks, it was still not enough, and her yearning for answers and her attraction to Beast Boy grew more. It was only in the past few weeks that Raven discovered what she really wanted, what she needed. The problem there, was how to take that step because just as how she wished for him to open up to her, she in turn was expected over time to open up to him as well. Though the troubles she used to have in maintaining control of her powers were by and large easier to handle, all of that was intended for friendships or bouts of casual hanging out. Love, whether one-sided or mutual, was a far more passionate environment to cope with.

"Raven, are you even listening to me?" Star Sapphire questioned.

"Huh?" Raven responded, twisting away from staring at Beast Boy back to facing the other girl.

Star Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "How long have you been tuning me out?"

"It wasn't intentional, I swear," Raven apologised quickly.

"Like Parallax it was," Star Sapphire refuted. "What were you doing looking over at Beast Boy anyway?" Suspicion caused her to remember Raven and Beast Boy's current reputation and she spoke accusingly. "Are the two of you concocting another prank?"

"No, that's not it," Raven answered, her cheeks beginning to blush.

"Then why else would you be looking at him? You should be focusing on who to ask to the dance tonight, not thinking about your next caper with that annoying, disgusting, repulsive - - -

Words died in Star Sapphire's throat as in the moment she began to spout insults toward Beast Boy, Raven suddenly turned on her with an enraged snarl and fixed her with a wholly ferocious, red-eyed glare. Frightened at how rapidly berserk her friend's nature had changed, she raised her hands in pacification.

"Okay, Raven. Calm down," she said consolingly. "I didn't mean it. I was just angry you weren't paying me attention. He's your friend and it wasn't right of me to say that."

The threatening red in Raven's eyes dulled as she felt the sincerity of Star Sapphire's apology, fading away to be replaced by her natural purple irises. The snarl she wore dropped down to form a straight, thin line. "Good, because if I hear one more word against him, I'll - - -

"You won't, you won't," Star Sapphire promised hurriedly. "But seriously though, the way you just acted. I mean, a simple scowl would have proven enough that you were standing up for a friend. That…_that__…_was more like standing up for someone you're in love with."

The blush on Raven's face from before she lost her temper returned, its colour going to a deeper, more visible shade of red. The reaction did not go unnoticed by Star Sapphire, whose eyes bulged as she realised she had hit the mark.

"Holy raspberries!" she yelped. "That's it, isn't? You have feelings for Beast Boy!"

"Not so loud, please," Raven mumbled in embarrassment.

An excited grin split across Star Sapphire's face. "Why?" she exclaimed, throwing her hands forward to clasp both of Raven's. "When you're in love, you want to shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear!"

"As alleviating as that's supposed to sound, the thing is, I don't know how to ask him," Raven confessed.

"Hmmm," Star Sapphire thought out loud. "Tell me how deep your feelings run. Would just going up to him and ask to go the dance with you do them justice?"

"No," Raven said, shaking her head slowly. "I don't think it will."

"That deep, huh? Then there's only one thing to do," Star Sapphire proclaimed.

"If it's a makeover, the answer is no," Raven said, unnerved that was what was about to be suggested to her.

"Nothing that drastic. Natural beauty's where it's at," Star Sapphire replied. "What's needed for something like this is practice."

"Practice?" Raven questioned dubiously.

"You know, rehearsing. Testing what you would like to say and do and decide if that's good or if you would like to try something else," Star Sapphire explained.

"Okay, that sounds like a good way to help," Raven said, biting her lip quietly as she remained inwardly uncertain that it would work.

"Great! Let's go ask Crazy Quilt if we can borrow the theatre or maybe his classroom," Star Sapphire gushed in delight, tugging at Raven to follow her. "There's no better place to rehearse than drama."

"Maybe we should," Raven opened her mouth to say, but whatever she was about to curb Star Sapphire's excitement with was forgotten as he lost her balance and ended up being reluctantly dragged off by her overenthusiastic friend.

**:*:**

A private witness to everything that occurred with her friends after Principal Waller's speech, Wonder Woman surveyed the proceedings with great interest. Taken in by the idea of the dance, Diana imagined the evening ahead with her and her chosen partner swaying, stepping and circling across the floor in rhythm with the music.

From this daydream and her secret feelings regarding the person in question, she knew who it was she wanted to ask. Because he was not a student, she understood she had to ask Vice Principal Grodd for permission to invite him, but first there was the point of asking him if he was interested in going. Whisking out her telecommunicator, Diana pressed in a series of numbers and waited for the device to ring.

"Hello, this is Steve Trevor," the answer came.

"Hi Steve, it's Wonder Woman. I'd like to ask if you - -

"I'm sorry I can't come to the phone right now," the voice continued. Diana's hopeful face wavered. It was a recorded message. "I'm going fishing with some friends and won't be in reach for a while. Please leave a message and I promise to get back to you ASAP. Bye."

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you were going on that trip," Diana replied. "Never mind. I'll see you when you get back."

She switched the telecommunicator into standby mode and repocketed it, letting out a lament-filled sigh. She had truthfully forgotten the fact that Steve was going on a fishing trip with his gang of friends for the whole weekend. Steve had told her exactly that himself two days prior when she, Supergirl and Bumblebee had spent much of Wednesday afternoon dealing with another rampage from Giganta and they decided to make a quick stop at the Capes and Cowls Café for a round of refreshingly cold drinks.

Groaning about how perfect the dance would have been to let Steve know about her feelings for him, Diana turned and gazed at the people surrounding her. Just because Steve was unavailable did not mean she had to go to the dance alone, right, she asked herself. A tiny but decisive side of her answered yes, as long as she stated to the person she went with that it would only be a casual, friendly thing. Diana agreed wholeheartedly with the assessment.

With her newly resolute dedication to her standards in place, Wonder Woman summoned a breath to hold her courage upon and moved on to accomplish her set goal, looking avidly in search of a person she would not mind asking and who would politely accede to her wishes. By six o'clock that evening she, Wonder Woman, would have a partner beside her and they would have a good and fun time together. She'd stake her status as a Princess of Themyscira on it.

* * *

**In the next chapter, three girls deign to ask their choices to the dance and a mystery rises when it is revealed a fourth already has a boyfriend she has been keeping secret from nearly everyone else. Who could it be? Find out.**


End file.
